RUGBY OPENS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 794, 18 April 1910, Page 5

RUGBY OPENS.

ORIENTAL DEFEAT ATHLETICS.. EXCITING FINALE. ' Oriental 18 points v. Athletics 8 Writs. St. James 26 points v. Southorn 8 points. Old Boys 12 points v. Hutt nil. Patono 12 points v. Wellington nil. Poneke 19 points V. Victoria College lie Rugby season was opened on 6atnrday afternoon, under auspicious ; Conditions. Early in the afternoon there.was a high northerly, hut as time wore on it, probably interfered little with the play. There was, as usual, ft large crowd at Athletic Park, where the turf was in capital order —indeed, it seemed in a better state than it has ■ been for a long time., Upon inquiry ; it was ascertained that the caretaker had taken the precaution during. the summer months to "nurse" tliose portions of the ground.which are so liable to be broken up in wet'weather: If his plan is successful, the ground will not again present the appearance of a quagmire, which was the case on' so many occa- , Hons; last year. Despite the fact 'that the season is. only in its infancy, ,mpst af the players furnished very pleasing Bvidenceof being :■ in something , like hard training. Keen . interest .wasl manifested in the merits of . the various leading players, this.. being no doubt chiefly on account .of 'the fact that within a few weeks the team to represent New .Zealand on .the Australian tour will have to be selected. It was a dav of individualism rather than con- . certea tactics, for, as' could only b6 ■ expected, so early, in the season, there was not that.'pronounced organisation which the best teams acquire as the winter goes on. The "star" fixture was the match Oriental and' Athletics met. A' notable absentee was "Fred" Roberts,', who is desirous of v. . retiring from active; participation in the ■ v game, but may. yet.be induced to make his reappearance. In the first spell play was anything but exhilarating, Athleticssecuring3 points, whilst . Oriental failed to score. As the second 6p61l ;advanced, it .seemed as if the team which had its head in front must win, 1 for Oriental were ; finding it an uphill, contest. But the charm of . the ■ unexpected at length threw its, spell, over- the ' proceedings, and the excite; - ment': as Oriental took up the attack • ... in earnest naturally grew. In a few! . .minutes; mainly owing to brilliant play by Matheson, Oriental ran up 10 points, ~, thus establishing a two-point lead. And what was more the winners," hav- . \ ing once taken the situation, by. the throat, never relaxed their grip, even-, tually beating the'team pitted against them by the substantial margin of ten ..'points. . ' " On the: adjacent ground, St. James had a big win over Southern'; Their play was :not, however, of, the standard . . anticipated, especially in the;: forward division. When they meet a side with . a,'greater-knowledge; of the fine points ■ they: will have 'to do much better to ' win. : '■ ; ' , . At "Miramar Poneke had an easy win over Victoria College, whilst on the ' other- suburban grounds Old Boys, defeated the ne'v Hutt . team and Petone . . proved too good for' Wellington. " Foi- ' towing are .the details of the games:— ORIENTAL 18; ATHLETICS 8. -.. In the; contest . between; .Oriental and jLthktics, . the' latter assumed tlic ' aggressive!soon,, after the commencement, and the Oriental line - was in. danger ..several -times. Once Kivell handed.'the ball out'to S. Wilson,/who gotr over, but was recalled. ~Tlie next rush,' however, - penetrated—rather overwhelmed—the Oriental defence, and . Bell scored.. 3 —o. Oriental! seemed to be roused by the reverse,, and their supporters' were able'to note with satisfaction- that the' pack was . gradually working better together. Out. came theball to their backs in the Athletic 25, but Kinyig held on too long, and what looked like a dangerous rush came to a sudden end, while an abortive pass to : Chant on the right'wing spoilt anothei. As tlw spell- progressed Athletics again bored in. on'-their opponents, and from a scramble on the Oriental line Bell scored again. S. Wilson, who took the kick,- made no.-mis(;ake. B—o. "Play up Ones 1" cape a concerted shout from the bank, and Oriental s did. their best, to respond, but some of them were . by. this time showing distress signals, • '• and uneventful, play'characterised the ■ closing stages of the spell.- . , ' : Oriental attacke'd at the. outset of ; the second half, but M'Doriald, the Athletio full-back, saved by cool play. , Then Athletics'again became aggressive, and it'appeared as if ; their efforts would bej rewarded, for the_ Oriental forwards . for a time were quite . "off colour." • Once practically .the whole of the van- \ guard were to be> seen l returning it a snail's pace to assist their backs—but . wiey made amends shortly afterwards. ■ Gaining possession of the bail in j 25, Matheson set .sail in i characteristic fashion, and, after beating several opponents, capped-his run - with a. .very fine try. B—3. Braced up : by this change of fortune, Oriental : again swept down the. field.. 1 M'Donald tried to save," but the ball descended near the goal-line, .where :half a do;sen Orientals and about as many of tho Athletics were waiting. In the resultant ; scramble;-' Murray got over .amid hearty applause. Kinvig took the kick, but the ball'struck the bar and rebounded : into the fiold. B—6. The exciting and deciding stage of the game, had come ] A \now, tho situation had developed, and, '' as it turned out, that very fine,player - Matheson proved equal to it, potting an ■' unmistakable goal shortly after the re- ! ; sumption of play, .and thus giving his' - side a/ lead of .. .two points. ...- B—lo. j ' , Athletics now had-the misfortune to. Jose Keady, who received an injury ! affecting the ligaments, of the shoulder, . , and a substitute filled the gap. During the remainder of the snell both sides tired perceptibly, but eventually Orien- 1 . tal once again reached l , the Athletic line i where Gallaway had hard luck in not s scoring. On the line-out which fol- 1 lowed, M'Leod cleverly put in an ap- l pearance and, snapping up the ball, got' 1 over. Matheson \converted with a fine i .. kick from a difficult angle. B—ls. i Within half a-minute from the call of 1 time Galloway got across the Athletics i line" and lost the . ball, but Akers i dropped upon it —tho last score. 8— —18 ' Mr/ Francis controlled the game satis- 1 factorily.

ST. JAMES 26, SOUTHERN 8. St. James showed undoubted superiority over Southern on No. 2 ground at the Athletic, l'ark. During the early - stages of. the contest their backs mado a popular move by throwing the ball about, and presently Bradley, their promising centre, three-quarter, from Timnru, romped over, 3—o/ Within a few minutes play was again in the Southern 25, where the St. James backs made another determined passing rush, in which they' were assisted by a majority of their forwards. From one to; another the oval > flew, until King ran round Crewes, gathered in a pass, and threw himself over the line near the : corner. 6—o- Not long afterwards the St. James forwards took part in a rush, as a result of which Donaldsoiij. .registered a third try. 9—o. Southern now exerted themselves more than the.Vi

had done at any previous stage, and kept St. James well in hand for tho next ten minutes, and then, owing to St. James failing to catch and return a penalty kick Cunningham got over their line ill a scramble. 9—3. Just prior to tho closo of tho spell "Teddy" Roberts initiated a passing rusli for St. James, which resulted in Phillips Bcoring a meritorious try. 12—3. Had Bradley not passed too high to Crowes on' a subsequent- occasion another score would almost for a certainty have been made.'

The second spell was less eventful. Time after time St. James swarmed down oh Southern T'.;c wolves on the fold, and presently Bradley found an opening and got across. 15—3. Southern now took a hand in the attack, and after a very pretty piece Mitchell was pushed into touch just in tho nick of time. A moment or two later, however, J. Campbell scored, and Mitchell kicked a goal. 15—8. Southern faded away to some extent afterwards, and St. James added appreciably to' their, total; The additional scorers' were: Moffitt, tha ex-South Canterbury re-, presentative, and a former member of the club, 2 tries; and Crewes, 1 try, the latter's being converted by T. Roberts. The match thus ended: St. James, 26 points, Southern, 8 points. Mr. H. Card controlled tho game efficiently. PONEKE 19; VIC. COLLEGE NIL. The match between Poneke and . Victoria College'on No. 1 Polo Ground at Miramar was decided in everybody's mind before the teams took the field. During tho first spell play was fairly even, only three points being scored against College,-but in the second half last season's champion-holders added sixteen points. Half a gale' was blowing, and College fonnd it impossible to keep tho ball down. The College team shows some changes from last year, their pack now comprising mostly slim young men, so that, in Saturday's match,' Poneke had considerable advantage from "their greater weight in the scrum. The-Poneke fifteen has not altered greatly,- ' Mitchinson being the principal absentee. Slater, was half-back in place of Tilyard, who is unwell. Poneke attacked determinedly from the outset; and College backs were put on the defensive. Faire, who has been wisely moved'up from full-back to-the three-quarter line, did some effective line-kicking. . Right through he displayed 'plenty of pluck, when., getting' into grips'with more experienced men, and he gives the impression that he will.become a very useful man on the wing.. 'After some time Dennehy led a likely forward, movement, and Burk, at full, only saved College by finding the lino with a speculator. A score followed- close upon this first: invasion. E. Ryan finding no course open ahead, toed the ball to Prendeville, who trans-, ferred to J. Elliott, .with the result that ..three points •„ were obtained after a smart run through the College ranks.. In ■ the second half, Poneke promptly assailed their opponents and swarmed round the-Green goal. After half a dozen- unsuccessful., attempts had been made at. scoring,:.ihany crediting Walshe with a .try, Mowat bounded over the line unchallenged. .Gardiner, with the [whole strength of the northerly against him 1 , accomplished the. apparently, impossible, 'dropping the ball between the bars from what :would have been a difficult position under the niost favourable*, circumstances. B—o. In a few minutes Walshe got' the ball away from a scrum on the half-way. line, and passed to Mowati Prendeville carried on for. a few yards, and E. Ryan, with one of his old, sprints, took the ball over., 1-1—0; . The next score was obtained by that . sterling forward Dennehy. Walshe . goaled. successfully:. 16 —0. Finally, the Poneke backs got going, and . Elliott passed out: to Gardiner, who took , a bad. pass cleverly, while at top speed, and. ran through. 19—0. Mr. Mairtin was referee. ■ ■ ■

OLD 80Y5,,12; HUTT, NIL. / • The debut" of the newly-boni Hutt senior'team against Old Boys was marred by the ; strong northerly, wind. There was little or no shelter, oh the ground, and., the-play suffered'in consequence. There, was a good deal of, local interest in the' match, and some fair dashes of brilliance were', shown. Old Boys were top good for their opponents, who have hot quite'grasped the finer points of the game, but. there is material in '.the -team which should develop with experience. Very little back play was indulged in, but the dash of the forwards .made up for what was lacking, in the rear division. Hoketa, an ex-Te A,ute boy, who was playing centre three-quarter, received a severe bump early in the game, and was not seen to advantage' after it. - Avery scored a try for Old Boys with a fine dash. Grace secured two tries, and Martin-kicked a penalty goal. Mr. -F. Laws was referee. ; PETONE, 12; WELLINGTON, NIL. The Petoue-Wellington match was practically .played out between-;the. ; forwards, both sides showing considerable dash and - resource. - The Wellington men's form lasted out until the. middle of the second spell, when Petone put on 12' points in quick time. Taken all 'round, the play was;hot up to senior standard, and both sets of backs could easily have : done better. About the only two passing rushes instituted by Pet-one resisted in scores by Corson aiid M'Kenzie. The third try was secured by Dent, as the result of a sweeping forward - rush, whilst Joe - Ryan notched the last score .with' a singlehanded dash. M'Farlane, whose good kicking 'was so- successful last year, failed, with every kick, Mr. T. H. Jones was referee. r

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP. The Poneke v. St. James match played at Hiramar, was a well-coii-tested game, but Poneke were placed at a disadvantage owing to the seniors annexing several player!., whose places had to be filled from the ranks of the lower grades. . During the first spell, St. James crossed their opponents' line twice, the scorers being Hpare and Helliwell. In the second half Poneke tried hard to score, their forwards putting in solid work, but the game ended in a win for St. James by two .tries to . nil. During the ■ first part of the match, Wellington juniors v. Melrose juniors, neither side scored, but it was easily seen-that the Wellington juniors had far the best-of the game, as a strong wind was blowing against them and the ball was kept well in ropponenta' portion of the field. . In the second spell Allan Hill took the ball neatly at half-way, and sprinted fast up tho whole field, scoring a well-earned try, which was converted by ICirkwood. 1 The game terminated in. a win for Wellington juniors by five points to nil. On tho Hiftt Show Grounds Petono defeated St. John's by 30 to nil. Tries wore scored by Whitley (2), Collier, Ryan, Barker, and Brice. All six tries were converted by Ashton. Athletic juniors beat Victoria Collego by eleven to six, after a very even game. There is not much to report in the junior match Southern v. Old Boys. Southern missed several chances of scoring owing to over eagerness. There was no score. THIRD-GLASS. Athletic defeated St. John's by 19 to'nil. St. John's played two men short. Tho game Southern v. Porirua was a. game "Pixies" versus "giants," Porirua outweighing their opponents by about. 2 stono all round, but neverthe-

less Southern romped homo victors by 14 points to nil. Scorers: 0. H. Johnsou one try, A. Parker one, J. Parker one penalty goal, and M'Guirney scored and converted one try. Star Boating Club defaulted to Petone. / FOURTH-CLASS. Tho match Southern v. Old Boys was not played, the referee not putting in an appearance. This is to be regretted, and discourages the boys.. Petone (33) defeated St. James (0). FIFTH-CLASS. The contest Southern v. > Wellington College resulted in a runaway victory for. Wellington College by 46 to nil. Athletic won from Selwyn A by 37 to nil. Selwyn played two snort. Scores: M. Pool, thrpe tries: H. Adams, two; Stevens, two; Donaldson, one; R. J. Adams,: oiie. 'l'ries were converted by Donaldson, Hugh, H. Adams, Stevens, and Ackens. St. Patrick's fifth A team, defeated Melroso fifths by 12 to nil (3'tries and a penalty goal) ; and St. Patrick's B team drew with the Hutt fifths, no score being registered. St. James defaulted to Petone. ACCIDENTS TO PLAYERS. YOUTH HAS LEG BROKEN. In the match Karori v. Selwyn at Karori, a player named A. Edwards sustained a broken leg. He was conveyed to his home and is reported to be, progressing satisfactorily. Early in the junior match, Wellington v. Melrose, A. L. Hubert had his eye badly injured. His injury required medical attention. During the senior, match Oriental v. Athletic, Ready, an Athletic player, sustained an injury to the ligaments around the shoulder and collar-bone, and M'Leod, captain of the Oriental, had one'of his legs badly knocked. During the course of .the St. Augustine's i v. St. John's football match on Saturday, a player named Buckingham had the misfortune to sprain his ankle. , ' - J A: Wilson, of the Wellington senior team, had two of his ribs fractured 1 during the course of the Petone-Wel-lington Rugby match oh Saturday. THE BAYLY MEMORIAL. At a meeting of the Taranaki Rugby Union at Stratford on Friday night, tho proposed Bayly Memorial scheme, moved by Mr. D. Malone and seconded by Mr. H.- Chambers, was carried. .It was decided to apply to the New' Zealand Rugby Union for a grant of £100, and to also make a further appeal to the public for funds. It is considered that something between .£3OO and £500 will bo required altogether in order to place the Slemorial Fund on a suitable basis. .